Category: Know How

As the name suggests, “Wake on LAN” (WOL for short) describes a standard for starting a PC via the built-in network card, i.e. switching it on. This can be done via the local network, but WOL also offers the option – and here we come to the big advantage – of switching on the computer via the Internet.

What are the requirements for Wake on LAN?

The prerequisite for Wake on LAN is that both the mainboard and the network card support the WOL standard. In addition, ACPI or at least the predecessor APM must be activated in the BIOS and a reasonably up-to-date version of Windows, Linux or Mac OS should be running on the PC. Wake on LAN can be used to wake a computer from the idle states S3 (Standby/STR), S4 (Hibernation/STD) and S5 (Soft-Off) (we have explained the different modes in more detail in our article on ACPI). However, it is important that the network card is permanently supplied with power via a standby power branch of the power supply unit – even when the PC is switched off. The computer must also be connected to the router via a network cable.

Good to know: What is ACPI?

How does switching on via Wake on LAN work?

Switching on is done via a so-called “Magic Package”, which is sent to the network card. It contains the hexadecimal value FF six times in succession, followed by the MAC address of the network card, which is repeated sixteen times without a pause. This Magic Package can be sent from another computer in the network. If you are not on site and want to switch on a PC via the Internet, you can use another PC, a smartphone or even a NAS. Detailed instructions on how to configure a computer for Wake on LAN can be found at PC-Welt.

The power button is, as the name suggests, a switch that can be used to turn electrical appliances on and off. With computers, such as our mini PCs, the function is now limited to switching them on. Whereas in the past, with Windows 95 and the like, we had to wait for minutes until the PC was shut down and could be switched off, this now happens completely automatically. It is only required for hard shutdown during operation – if the PC hangs up, for example. However, as this can cause software problems, we should only do this in an emergency. Depending on the settings in the software, the power button can also be used, for example, to put the running PC into hibernation mode.

What does a power button look like?

Unlike the interfaces, for example, the appearance of the power button is not specified. It can take on various sizes and shapes, depending on how it suits the design or is practical. The power button often has an integrated LED that lights up to signal that the PC is running.

How does a power button work technically?

A cable is connected to the power button, which is connected to two pins on the mainboard. Pressing the power button closes a circuit on the mainboard. At that moment, the power supply unit receives the signal to supply the computer with power and thus start it up.

What are the advantages of the power button?

The power button is actually a very practical invention. After all, it offers the great advantage that we can use it to switch a PC on and off very easily in an emergency.

What are the disadvantages of the power button?

The disadvantage of the power button is that we always have to be close to the PC when we want to switch it on. In many industrial applications, however, the computer used is permanently installed and is not necessarily freely accessible. Fortunately, there are also other ways to switch on a PC.

What are the alternatives to the power button?

An alternative is an external power switch, such as the one offered for our BOX N2930. A cable can be used to place the power button on the outside while the PC is installed in a cabinet, pedestal or similar.

Another option is Wake On LAN. The PC is started via the network card. A computer can also be started via the keyboard or mouse and thus via USB (Wake on USB). ACPI is a prerequisite for these options.

Another example is the ultra-small Raspberry Pi single-board computer. It has neither a power button nor Wake on LAN or similar (as it has no BIOS), but boots up as soon as it receives power. To switch it off, it is shut down manually like all other PCs.

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ACPI is the abbreviation for “Advanced Configuration and Power Interface” and describes an open industry standard for the power management of PCs, laptops and servers. In order to be able to use ACPI, both ACPI-compatible hardware (mainboard, power supply unit, etc.) and an ACPI-compatible operating system (e.g. Windows) are required. ACPI was published in 1996 and is being developed by Intel, Microsoft, HP and other IT companies. In this case, the operating system has control over power management. This has a better overview of the power requirements of the computer and the possibilities for saving energy than the BIOS. In contrast to its predecessor APM, with ACPI the BIOS only has the task of communicating with the hardware.

What is APM?

APM stands for “Advanced Power Management “. The term also describes a standard for energy-saving methods for PCs. APM was developed by Intel and Microsoft in the early 1990s. With this standard, the energy-saving functions are mainly managed by the BIOS and the hardware. Since the introduction of ACPI, however, APM has only played a subordinate role.

How does ACPI work?

To better understand how power management works under ACPI, we need to go a little further and take a closer look at the different states a computer can be in with ACPI. The so-called G-State describes four possible states: The mode “G0” designates the active state (“Working”) in which work can be carried out, “G1” the sleep state, “G2” is the so-called “Soft-Off” – a PC with ATX standby voltage, while “G3” describes the computer with the plug pulled out (“Mechanical off”). In the G1 state, a distinction is made between the various resting states or sleep states (S-states for short):

• S0: Working – System is switched on, functional and completely ready for use.
• S1: Sleep – Simple sleep mode in which the CPU is stopped.
• S2: Deeper Sleep – Extended sleep mode in which other components such as the CPU cache are switched off.
• S3: Standby mode – Most of the hardware on the motherboard is switched off. The mode is also referred to as “Suspend to RAM” (STR) or “Suspend to memory” (STM), i.e. the operating status is still stored in a volatile memory(RAM).
• S4: Hibernation – also known as “Suspend to disk” (STD) – This means that the operating status is saved on a non-volatile memory(hard disk or SSD). System could be disconnected from the power supply.
• S5: Soft-off mode – system is switched off (shut down), only the power supply unit supplies voltage. The system can be activated via a power button or, if necessary, via Wake on LAN.

In addition to the G and S states already mentioned, a distinction is also made between ten different processor states – CPU states, or “C states” for short – and five possible device states – device states, or “D states” for short.

What are the advantages of ACPI?

The advantage of standby and hibernation is that the PC does not have to restart completely and is ready for operation again more quickly. During these modes, we can also leave programs and files we are currently working with open.

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Windows 7 – The end has come

We already announced in our news in June last year that spo-comm can only provide support for Windows 10 on new systems.

And now the time has come for all other systems too. The Windows 7 SB versions are no longer available. The spo-comm Mini-PCs will now only be supplied with Windows 10(IoT) or – after consultation – with Windows 7 Embedded.

AI AI Captain: spo-comm at the Nuremberg Digital Festival 2019

We will be taking part in this year’s Nuremberg Digital Festival with an exciting event under the motto of Artificial Intelligence. Here, our participants learn what Nvidia’s CUDA programming technology has to do with AI and deep learning. We have summarized more information about our guest speakers, application examples from our customers and the event itself in a separate blog article.

spo-comm goes NUE Digital

CUDA & 4K: Nvidia’s Jetson Nano Development Kit

As the name suggests, Nvidia has launched a new board for developers. It goes by the name of Jetson Nano and has four ARM processor cores with a performance of 1.43 GHz at its heart. These are combined with a 4GB LPDDR4 RAM. The Developer Kit has a total power consumption of just 5 watts. The Jetson Nano also comes with 128 CUDA cores with which videos can be encoded in a resolution of 4K@60 Hz in the H.264 standard and decoded in the H.265 standard.

Despite its small dimensions of just 100 x 80 x 29 mm, the Jetson Nano has passive cooling and numerous connections. These include five USB ports, one of which is a micro USB, an HDMI and DisplayPort for connecting monitors, as well as a Gigabit LAN port. A camera can also be connected via the CSI-2 and a microSD card slot is also available.

Further information on the Jetson Nano can be found here and in a video from Nvidia.

The abbreviation UEFI stands for “Unified Extensible Firmware Interface”. It is the successor to the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) and is much easier to use. UEFI is an interface between the firmware, the individual hardware components of the computer and the operating system. UEFI has the same basic functions as the BIOS. It initializes the hardware, tests the individual hardware components and initiates the start of the operating system.

How was UEFI developed?

BIOS was developed back in the 1970s for the first IBM PC, which appeared in 1981. So it’s not surprising that it’s getting a bit long in the tooth. Because it is not 64-bit-capable, BIOS no longer met the requirements of newer hardware. Intel then took the first step and developed the successor EFI, which was specified in 1998. In order to further develop EFI, the Unified EFI Forum was founded, which includes Intel, AMD, Microsoft and other manufacturers. The first version of UEFI was finally released in 2006 and has been supported by Windows since Windows Vista.

What is Secure Boot?

Probably the most important new feature of the UEFI is Secure Boot, which increases the security of the boot process. It prevents malware from being loaded during the boot process, which could then manipulate or attack the computer. This is done using a digital key with which the boot loader and programs must identify themselves. If software is present that cannot authenticate itself, the system is prevented from starting.

What are the advantages of UEFI?

• Graphical user interface which – unlike the BIOS – can also be operated with the mouse instead of just the keyboard.
• 64-bit support
• Drivers can be integrated directly or loaded as a module.
• Faster boot process, as the hardware is prepared in parallel during initialization and not one after the other as with the BIOS.
• Booting from hard disks larger than 2 TB is possible.
• Network support: The UEFI can go online and be updated to a newer version, for example.
• Certain functions can be used even before the operating system is started.
• Several operating systems can be installed in parallel.
  The user can select which parts of the operating system are to be loaded.

What are the disadvantages of UEFI?

• 64-bit is required.
• Danger for viruses and Trojans due to network support, UEFI has no integrated anti-virus software.
• Secure Boot causes problems when using Linux.

How do I get into the UEFI?

If you want to access the UEFI, on most computers you have to press the “Del” key several times in quick succession immediately after switching on the PC. If this does not lead to success, it is worth taking a look at the manual. In some cases, it is a different key that enables access to the BIOS or UEFI.

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The end of the cable crisis thanks to CAN

The acronym CAN stands for Controller Area Network and refers to a serial bus system, i.e. a system in which data is transmitted between several participants via a common path. The maximum transmission speed for the (high-speed) CAN bus is 1 Mbit/s, but it also depends on parameters such as the cable length and bus load.

The purpose of the system, developed by Bosch in 1983, is to reduce the number of wiring harnesses in vehicles – as these were previously up to 2 kilometers long.

The CAN bus in the vehicle

As cars produce more and more data, the focus is increasingly on electronics. To ensure that the electronic devices in vehicles can work together without problems, they need a standardized communication or platform. This is ensured by the CAN bus.

The electronic devices include sensors and control units. There can be up to 50 of the latter in modern luxury cars. Each of these is connected to the bus via a CAN interface and checks the data for content and priority. If several control units attempt to send information at the same time, the message with the highest priority is sent first and the others follow in descending order of priority. Thanks to so-called “identifiers”, the information is then processed by the correct device.

Advantages of using the CAN bus:

• Less cabling required
• More economical and simpler realization of cross-controller communication, for example with ESP
• Clear detection of faults and interruptions thanks to high transmission reliability

Mini PCs in the vehicle

Our range of mini PCs also includes several models that are designed for a wide variety of in-vehicle applications. These include the MOVE series and the RUGGED series, which recently welcomed a new mini PC – the RUGGED Ryzen. All models can be optionally equipped with a CAN bus module to meet the scenario described above.

We have summarized more about vehicle PCs, what distinguishes them and where they can be used in another article.

Click here for our vehicle PCs

How do vehicle PCs work?

A mini PC that is suitable for use in vehicles is characterized by various factors. On the one hand, vehicle PCs should not have any moving parts so that they can withstand shock and vibrations without any problems. They are therefore cooled passively, i.e. without a fan, and ideally an SSD is installed instead of an HDD. The robust design and completely sealed housing also protect against dust and moisture. In order for the in-vehicle PC to withstand the voltage peaks when starting the engine, it requires a wide range current input of 9-36 volts, sometimes even up to 48 volts. A compact design is also an advantage, as space in vehicles is limited. Mini PCs are therefore always the first choice. An extended temperature range is also important, as vehicle PCs are used virtually outdoors and should therefore be able to withstand sub-zero temperatures and heat.

Depending on the area of application, vehicle PCs can also be equipped with extensions. These include GPS and 3G or 4G modules. Some even have two SIM card slots, which significantly improves accessibility in the mobile network. If you want to prevent the PC from suddenly switching off, for example if the motor stalls, you can get a battery pack that supplies the PC with power for a further 10 minutes and thus prevents data loss.

Where are vehicle PCs used?

The areas of application for vehicle PCs are diverse. One example is emergency vehicles such as ambulances, police cars or customs vehicles. Mobile operations centers and mobile monitoring platforms can also be equipped with vehicle-compatible mini PCs. Vehicle PCs are also in demand in vehicle development. These can, for example, monitor, measure and check driving processes in prototypes. Vehicle PCs with enormous computing power are required for the autonomous driving sub-sector. Images from several cameras and measurement results from various sensors have to be evaluated and processed using artificial intelligence and deep learning. Another area of application is digital signage and infotainment. Screens with news, weather forecasts and advertising are no longer a rarity in buses, trains, subway trains and even cabs.

Which vehicle PCs does spo-comm offer?

Everyone will find the right product for their specific vehicle application in the spo-comm range. The vehicle PCs include the models in the MOVE series: the MOVE N3160 and, for those who need a little more power, the MOVE QM87. The newer models in the RUGGED series are also suitable for use in vehicles: The RUGGED Q170, the AMD-based RUGGED Ryzen and our graphics wonder RUGGED GTX1060 Ti, which is equipped with an NVIDIA Geforce graphics card and also enables multi-monitor applications.

Discover spo-comm Vehicle-PCs

Goodbye Thunderbolt 3, hello USB 4

The USB Promoter Group recently announced the new USB 4 standard. This is based on Thunderbolt 3 and enables sensational data transfer rates of up to 40 GBit/s, which is twice as much as the current version USB 3.2 Gen2x2. The background: Intel is submitting its Thunderbolt specification to the USB-IF (Universal Serial Bus Implementers Forum). This will enable manufacturers to produce suitable chips in the future without having to pay the license fees required for Thunderbolt. What is also certain so far is that USB Type C is required in any case – but the new connection can also transmit DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI signals and charge devices with up to 100 watts. It is not yet clear when the first devices with USB 4 will be developed. Perhaps with Intel’s new Ice Lake CPU generation, which is due to arrive at the end of 2019.

Sources: golem.de, heise online, GameStar.

10 times as fast: the new 5G standard

The new 5G mobile communications standard was one of the major topics at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona at the end of February. Samsung, Huawei, LG and other manufacturers have already presented smartphones that support 5G. But what is the current status? The 5G standard is the successor to 4G/LTE and builds on it. With data rates of up to 20 Gbit/s, 10 times the LTE speed can be achieved. In Germany, the first mobile networks are due to be available from 2020, but the initial priority for expansion is to provide access to outlying towns and villages that do not yet have a mobile network. Faster mobile communication is less important for now. The expansion in Germany is further complicated by the fact that the auction of 5G frequencies has been delayed. Due to the strict coverage requirements, the major mobile network providers Telefónica, Vodafone and Telekom have requested that the auction be stopped for the time being.

Sources: golem.de, heise online. informationszentrum-mobilfunk.de also explains the three different application areas of the 5G network. 

Embedded World and Internet World: spo-comm on a trade fair visit

In the last few weeks, two exciting trade fairs have taken place in our area, which we naturally didn’t want to miss. At the end of February, several colleagues from Sales, Marketing and Technology visited Embedded World in Nuremberg. There we learned about the latest trends in the industry and met some of our customers and partners.

In mid-March, our marketing team went to the Internet World Expo in Munich. We took advantage of the extensive range of presentations and listened to great speakers on topics such as SEO, SEA, UX and content marketing. We were able to take away many new ideas and suggestions and will certainly be implementing some of them in the coming weeks.

Fake faces non-stop: the possibilities of AI

Finally, a topic that shows the exciting possibilities of artificial intelligence and fascinated us greatly: the website ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com. With each update, it shows a new face that has been artificially created using AI, but looks so realistic that it cannot be distinguished from a real photo. The algorithm used here utilizes a so-called GAN (generative adversarial network), which creates new artificial examples from a large data set of real images. The StyleGAN algorithm was developed by NVIDIA and released as open source last year.

Source: The Verge.

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Vulkan is a programming interface (API) with a focus on 2D and 3D graphics. As it was planned as the successor to OpenGL, the API was initially called Next Generation OpenGL or glNext. As a so-called low-level API or low-overhead API, Vulkan enables programming that is closer to the hardware than DirectX, for example, and gives developers direct access and thus more control over the graphics unit. In addition, the work can be better distributed across the various CPU cores. All this increases computing power and efficiency while reducing the number of drivers and driver overhead.

Good to know: What is DirectX?

How was Vulkan developed?

Vulkan was developed by the Khronos Group. It is based on AMD’s low-level API Mantle, i.e. it was built on Mantle components. AMD had donated its API to the Khronos Group. This gave them a basis for developing their own low-level API, which could then be used as a cross-platform standard for the entire industry. Vulkan was first announced at the GDC in 2015 and was released in February 2016. The current version is 1.1.101 and dates from February 2019.

Who can use Vulkan?

Vulkan is open source and cross-platform and is supported by all major hardware manufacturers such as Intel, AMD and Nvidia. It is also compatible with various operating systems and can therefore be used on Windows, Linux, Android, macOS, iOS and others. As a result, Vulkan also runs on a wide range of devices such as PCs, consoles, smartphones and embedded platforms.

More information can be found at Techcrunch and golem.de.

Mantle is a programming interface (API) for graphic outputs. It was released in 2013 and was developed by AMD, originally together with the Swedish company Dice, whose PC game Battlefield 4 was the first game with Mantle. The API should be an alternative to OpenGL and Direct3D (= a part of DirectX).

Good to know: What is OpenGL?

What distinguishes Mantle from other graphics APIs?

Mantle is a so-called low-level API, i.e. a lean programming interface. “Low-level” means that the API enables programming close to the system. Similar to programming on consoles, developers have more control and can use the existing hardware more effectively. This increases the performance of the CPU and graphics unit. In addition, the driver overhead (= data that is only required for transferring or saving and is not primarily used) and the memory requirement are reduced and multithreading is simplified. More information and a detailed test report can be found at golem.de.

Is Mantle cross-platform?

In part: Mantle supports the GPUs in the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but not the graphics chips from other PC hardware manufacturers such as Intel or Nvidia.

What does the future hold for Mantle?

Due to strong competition from other cross-platform APIs, AMD announced in March 2015 that it would no longer be developing Mantle. Instead, DirectX12 and Vulkan, which is based on Mantle, were recommended.